“A similar (favour have you already received), in that we have sent among you an Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our signs, and sanctifying you [Science of Tasawwuf]…”

and

“qad aflaha man tazzaka wa dhakar asma Rabbihi fa-salla”

(al-‘Aala, 14)

“those will prosper who Purify themselves and glorify the Name of their Lord and pray.”

Here, Allah Almighty is mentioning the characteristics of the mutassawifs, those who are Purifying Themselves. They are always remembering their Lord, by recalling His Names and Attributes and they are attentive to their prayers.

“and whoever Purifies himself does so to his own soul’s benefit; and to Allah is the Journeying”

We find here the deep essence of Tasawwuf, the Science of the Purifying the Self. We remind the reader here that this is only a technical term, which can be replaced by any other word. This is Islam. If someone is claiming to follow or practice Islam, then they must partake in this struggle to purify the self, as it is so clearly ordered in these verses. Indeed it is meaningless to claim that there could be any Islam [surrender to Allah] without this pursuit of self-purification. Whether one is successful or not in this pursuit, is not the question, but its necessity is incumbent on every Muslim, man or woman.

Author Spotlight

Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

A world-renowned religious scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani is featured in the ground-breaking book published by Georgetown University, The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World—2009. For decades he has promoted traditional Islamic principles of peace, tolerance, love, compassion and brotherhood, while rigorously opposing extremism in ... Read Full

What is Sunnah?

The Arabic word Sunnah lexically means "road" or "practice." In the language of the Prophet {saw} and the Companions it denotes the whole of lawful practices followed in the Religion, particularly the pristine path of Prophets, whether pertaining to belief, religious and social practice, or ethics generally speaking.